INQUIRY-BASED FIELD SCIENCE EDUCATION AT UNO'S COASTAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FACILITY (CERF)

The Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences Coastal Education Program at the University of New Orleans provides teachers, students and community members with unique opportunities to explore and learn about the coastal wetlands of southeastern Louisiana through experiential science. The program is based at our Coastal Education and Research Facility (CERF) located at Chef Menteur Pass and adjacent to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. CERF is located in an area facing multiple coastal threats (sea level rise, land loss, alteration by hurricane protection structures, etc.), placing our program on the “front line” for all the coastal issues that will impact Louisiana and the world over the next century. Additionally, its location on a major tidal pass makes it an ideal place for important climate change related data collection. Surprisingly, CERF’s location is also literally within New Orleans city limits, so all local students are close enough to participate on a ‘day-trip’ basis. Our Coastal Education Program serves schools in the southeast Louisiana coastal parishes, providing programs for elementary to high school grades. Our audience includes underrepresented and underserved groups and CERF is ADA compliant. In addition, we offer professional development opportunities for area teachers and provide teaching materials for the classroom.

In our education programs we focus on increasing students’ awareness and understanding of the values of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, the issues facing them, and the choices we have for protecting and restoring them. Our methodology emphasizes inquiry-based science activities that cut across the science disciplines and also include the social sciences. One of our programs at CERF is part of a larger program to encourage minority students to study the Geosciences. Field based classes offered at CERF cover a range of topics, including: water quality and biological data collection; GPS and GIS mapping technology; remote sensing technology; measuring rates of land loss using aerial photography and satellite imagery; wetland habitat assessment; and many others. The activities presented are aligned with the Louisiana State Science Grade Level Expectations (GLEs).